The Butterfly Series
by cyberdigi
Summary: A sequel to My Jack, What did the TARDIS do? How will it change the lives of the members of Torchwood 3, following the adventures of the team from after Adam through COE eventually WIP Not overly Gwen friendly
1. The Choice

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N: **this follows My Jack and might not make sense without reading it first. This is my fixing of Torchwood. Word for the wise I attempt not to bash Gwen in this, however I do treat her in a way that her behavior should dictate, so Gwen-loves might not be pleased.

**Title: The Choice**

*_italics_are Tardis*

_In that instant all through time and space she found them and came to them. The ones that might have what was needed to make the choice. She came to them in their youth before adult minds of logic put an end to childhood dreams. She came to them again and again to tell them about the choice they might have, knowing one day one of them will make it._

September 2007

God it seemed like it had been a hard day, to make it worse he, like everyone else he had no idea what had happened. Those two days were a mystery that they all agreed were best left alone, but he still felt like he had been through the ringer today.

Even Jack was mildly shaken.

Jack.

The name brought peace with it. Even with Lisa, it hadn't felt like this.

Yes, Ianto Jones knew that for him Jack was it.

He jumped as he felt arms wind around him and he stiffened for a moment before catching Jack's all too familiar scent. He leaned back relaxing against the other man's chest, tilting his nose towards Jack's neck to enjoy his comforting scent.

"I thought you were trying to figure out who the mysterious Adam was?"

"Well, see I was, but then I had this overwhelming feeling that it was best not to know. So deciding to leave it be, I asked myself what shall I do? Why spend the evening with my favorite Welshman of course," Jack answered with his genuine blinding smile.

"I'm tired."

Jack's smile dimmed just a bit. He lowered his head almost burying his nose in Ianto's neck before answering, "I know, I didn't come here for sex. Well maybe we can indulge later, but….I have this feeling I almost lost you during our missing time. Right now I just want to hold you, spend the evening with you."

Ianto gently pulled himself away and turned to face Jack. The other man looked shattered and worn. Bringing his arms around Jack's neck and pulling their faces together; he kissed Jack. A deep sweet kiss to show Jack he understood.

"Sounds like a lovely idea"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Early 1930's

"Mummy, the shiny lady was back last night!"

"Estelle, how many times do I have to tell you it's just a dream," the child's exasperated mother started before questioning, "Did she say the same things?"

"Uh Huh! Telling me about a special person."

The child's mother just shook her head and wondered about the dreams her daughter had.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
2007 (the same night)

They were sitting on the couch as the TV played softly, but neither was really watching it; they were mostly just sitting there enjoying and soaking up each other's company.

Ianto was sitting between Jack's legs relaxing against the man's chest and shoulder. He felt like Jack was surrounding him, it made him feel safe, special, even…loved.

As the sound of rain hitting the window started Jack spoke.

"Rain around here always fascinates me, even after so long. There really wasn't a lot of rain on Boeshane."

As Jack started to tell a tale of his birth world, Ianto smiled into his neck. He loved it when Jack shared these stories with him, stories of his past. He was under no delusion he knew everything about the other man's past and doubted he ever would but that Jack shared some of it just made his earlier feelings grow.

He lightly kissed Jack's neck as the man was telling about the rain festivals of Boeshane and snuggled closer.

1890's

A young girl wakes in the dark of night to see a glowing woman standing at the foot of her bed.

"Are you going to tell me about the special person and choice again?"

The woman just smiled before beginning the words that were repeated to all of the ones with potential.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
September 2007 (same night again)

Jack suddenly became quiet as he finished a story from the Second World War.

Ianto leaned back a bit to better look at him, "What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know how to say this…I want to…I feel like I need to…"

"Jack what are you talking about?" Ianto was growing concerned.

As Jack took a deep breath trying to calm himself, Ianto pointedly waited. Jack took a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing.

"Do you remember the night before we sent Tommy back?"

Did he ever, he thought at first that Jack hadn't included him in one's the other man had loved in his long life. However, Jack corrected that with a look. He knew words such as "I love you" were hard, near impossible, for his lover; and that was closer than he ever thought he'd get to a declaration.

Ianto smiled, "Yes."

"I've been alive a long time have had many lovers, but just a few I can say I really…loved. I do what I can to remember everything about them. They were all special, but you Ianto Jones are something extra special, and I want, _need_, to say this to you," Jack took a deep breath before continuing, "I LOVE you."

Ianto was stunned and all he could do for a moment was stare, then he leaned in and kissed Jack with everything he had.

"I love you too," he said finally when they broke for air.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
1990

A little boy woke in the dead of night to see a familiar glowing woman sitting at the foot of his bed. He smiled at her ready to listen to her tell of a special person.

She smiled at him before beginning, "You have the chance for a great thing. You have the chance to have a special person love you. If things align right you have the chance to ease this person's pain as well, you might have the choice."

She continued to speak for what seems forever as he's about to drop off, he hears her say one more thing, "Yes Ianto Jones you have the chance to have a great love."

September 2007 (a few days later)

Weevil hunting with Jack was both fun and not fun. Jack could make almost anything fun and the after activities were _always_fun. However chasing down weevils in general was not fun.

As he paused to catch his breath, he thought on a topic that had, well he couldn't really say it bothered him, more of he thought of it out of the blue. Last night he had for no reason been reminded of the dreams he had had up until he was 13 of a "glowing woman". She would tell him about loving someone special and making a choice for him. He had thought that person was Lisa, especially in the aftermath of Canary Wharf. However, after she was gone he began to doubt that and started to believe it really was a dream like his parents always told him.

"Ianto, alright there?" Jack shouted from the other side of the alley.

Ianto looked up and stated, "Fine, sorry Jack I was wool gathering." He smiled as he started to come towards his lover, only to be caught off guard as a weevil came at him fast with claws ready.

There wasn't enough time to get his gun or weevil spray. He couldn't even move fast enough to deflect the blow. He felt an impact and then suddenly he was on the ground gasping for air and the sound of gun fire above him.

Jack was by his side at an instant; with a horrified look…it must be bad.

"Ianto! Hang On! I'm calling Owen."

He knew it was too late, already things were getting dark. He weakly lifted his hand to try and take Jack's.

Jack gripped his hand like a lifeline. It was getting darker…he needed to say it one more time.

"Jack..I lo..ve…you," he gasped out.

"No, no you can't leave me! Not yet! Damn it! I love you! I can't lose you yet!" Jack was crying now, all Ianto wanted to do was wipe the tears away, but he was falling into darkness.

Darkness.

Well that wasn't wholly unexpected; Jack would tell him about what he saw while he was dead.

Damn.

He really had died. Damn it. He just hoped there really was more to it than this.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a light and he turned to face it.

The light started to take more shape as the minutes progressed, until it had the form of a golden haired glowing woman; the same woman from his dreams.

"Congratulations Ianto Jones, you are the first to have the chance to make it this far. To have the chance to make the choice."

Ianto was flabbergasted, "I thought I dreamed you, what do you mean the first? Who are you?"

The woman smiled.

"I am called the Bad Wolf and I am no dream. I have come to all of you through time and space so those that have the potential have the chance to make this choice. You are the first in his linear time to have what is needed to have the chance to make the choice for Jack."

"Jack?"

"Yes, he is very special to me; I would not see him suffer so. So I have sought you all out to find one who is willing to make the choice."

Ianto was stunned; he had had it wrong, it had never been Lisa, it had always been Jack; and he should have realized, what he felt for Jack was so much more than what he had felt for Lisa.

"What choice?"

The Bad Wolf smiled, "Would you always stay by his side?"

"Yes of course, until the day I…die…but that's not what you mean is it?"

"You are a bright one Ianto Jones," she smiled, "Would you be willing to walk through the entirety of his life with him, as long as he revives so shall you, should you make this choice."

This was too much.

"Why me? Why not any of the other's he's loved?"

"That is simple Ianto Jones; to reach this point first you have to love Jack and for him to return that love. Second, that love must be without condition on both sides. And lastly, Jack must trust you, trust you enough to at least share some of what he is with you. You, Ianto Jones, are not only the first to know about his reviving from the dead but also for him to share some of his past with."

Ianto was shocked it never occurred to him that he was the first to know all these about Jack.

He knew why he was being given this choice now he had to make the choice. It was an easy decision to make, even if the consequences were hard.

"I would stay by his side as long as he would have me."

"I very much doubt he would have you from his side for too long, but there are bound to be breaks," she smiled again before becoming serious once more, "Are you sure? There are consequences and once this is done it cannot be undone."

"I know the consequences, I've seen what they do to Jack, but this is what I want, to be with Jack without fear of leaving him. This is what I want." He was resolved.

She nods and smiles, "Then **I bring life**!"

Ianto felt a rush through him and then pain.

Jack sat there cradling his lover's cooling bloody body, crying. He should call the others, but he just wasn't ready to deal with anyone else yet.

Too soon, he had lost him too soon. He was special damn it and he just wanted more time with him.

Suddenly he felt the body in his arms jerk and heard it gasp.

He looked at his lover's face to see Ianto's beautiful eyes looking back and feel a hand cupping his cheek.

"I-Ianto?" Jack stuttered tears threatening to spill

Ianto sat up and pulled his lover close whispering, "I'm back, I'm ok now." He comforted Jack as his lover cried.

Jack had been quiet as Ianto checked in with the Hub telling the others he and Jack were off duty for the night and told them to pick up the dead weevil. Jack was quiet as they went back to Ianto's. He was quiet as Ianto sat him on the couch and gave him a cup of coffee.

"H-How?" Jack stuttering was definitely a surprise.

"I always used to have dreams about a woman telling me about a great love. When I was in the darkness she came to me and said I could make a choice. She said she was the Bad Wolf."

Ianto paused as Jack looked at him with shock.

"I take it that means something to you?" at Jack's nod he continued, "She said she wanted to make you happy because she cared for you. Because you've trusted me with some of your secrets and that we love each other, I could choose to be with you as long as you live. How did she say it, as long as you revive so will I, I think."

Jack buried his head in his hands and shook his head. "I can't believe she did this."

"Jack, who is she?"

"Can I tell you later? Right now I just want to hold you and feel that you're alive."

Ianto smiled, "That's fine." With that he slipped into Jack's arms.

As Jack's hands started to wonder he put a hand on them to still them for a moment.

Looking Jack right in the eye, "Jack are you happy about this?"

Jack sighed, giving Ianto a quick kiss before continuing, "Yes, but I also know how hard this is, how much of a curse it is. I'm not exactly happy you're now cursed now too, but you said that it was a choice you made. You know how hard it can be, so I have to trust you. Yes I'm happy I have you for as long as I live, despite of the consequences."

Ianto smiled, "Good, let's go to bed."

He stood up pulling Jack toward the bedroom.

_Somewhere in time and space she rested as her one ran around the planet saving things. She felt her heart glow in happiness. Her Jack had a loved one to stay by his side now. She was pleased one had made the choice so early in her Jack's timeline. She looked forward to seeing her Jack again, to feel this new happiness in him. Yes this event would change several things for her Jack, all for the better. All because of the choice Ianto Jones made._

End


	2. Resetting Reset

**Disclaimer:**RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**Resetting Reset**

"We have to tell them Jack!"

"I know, but…"

Ianto sighed as the argument was getting old. Since the first week, a month and a half ago, Ianto had been trying to get Jack to tell the team about the change to his own mortality, but Jack had been resisting from the word go. Ianto understood, sort of. Jack had lived with being unable to stay dead for nearly a century and a half. He lived with people reacting badly when they found out; they wanted to experiment on him, be afraid of him, or just plain rejecting him.

On the other hand, however, the team needed to know. Ianto had lived on that side of the equation for nearly 9 months from when he was hired to when Owen shot Jack. For him, from the moment Jack had earned his loyalty and even his devotion, even divided as it was, he worried about his leader and lover, even was willing to protect him, give his life for Jack's. Jack had earned that devotion, that respect, and that loyalty from not just him but from Tosh and Owen as well. He did it just by being himself and he didn't realize just how much they would give for him, because no one had before.

"Jack," Ianto sighed, sitting next to his lover on the couch, "they need to be told, what if we're in a situation and they put themselves in danger for me. Nevermind the fact if they find out the way we did with you, they'll be hurt."

"I know! I know," Jack dropped his head to his hands, "I just don't want you to have to go through what I did."

"I know, I really do understand; but they won't react any differently than we did to you, if nothing else if we can tell them instead of demonstrating, they'll probably react better."

"You're right, I know, I just…" Jack shook his head, "You know everything. We'll tell them, but I have a UNIT guest coming tomorrow, how about we tell them after she leaves."

Ianto felt his eyebrow twitch, "And when were you going to tell me UNIT was coming?"

Jack had the grace to look embarrassed, "It's not an official visit, she's an old friend; we…we went to the end of the world together." Jack had shared a bit of his time with the Doctor and his Companion when he left, so Ianto knew who and what he was talking about.

"She joined UNIT?"

"I don't understand it either, when I left she was still with the Doctor," Jack shrugged. "Anyways, she'll be here sometime tomorrow, I'm afraid she wasn't more specific with the details."

"I'll keep an eye out for her, Martha Jones, right?"

Jack nodded, "Voice of a Nightingale."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Later the next night, Ianto was preparing for bed with Jack at his side.

"So what do you think of Nightingale?" Jack asked, it was easy to tell he wanted his lover to like his friend, fellow Companion.

Ianto smiled, "I haven't had much of a chance to interact with her, since Owen wanted to show off and Gwen wanted to gossip; but from what I've seen I think I'll like her once we have the chance." Ianto smiled as Jack visibly relaxed and smiled.

"Oh what were they gossiping about?"

"Gwen's favorite subject…you. I believe the first time they were talking about your promiscuity and later I heard her ask if Martha had seen you revive from the dead." Ianto frowned, that was something he didn't like or appreciate about Gwen, her obsession with Jack and her fascination with his ability to revive from the dead. She seems to find Jack's ability to come back interesting and romantic. Ianto's heart just broke when he thought about it before, but now while he knew what was ahead wasn't going to be easy he took comfort that he'd never have to leave Jack like everyone else and Jack would do the same for him. Gwen just didn't seem to grasp the consequences of Jack not being able to die.

"Really?" Jack didn't look happy about that.

"Yes, but Martha looked uncomfortable and left." Jack sighed with relief that his friend and fellow companion had not been gossiping about that particular issue, his sex life he didn't care but his ability to come back that was different.

Jack smiled, "Maybe we should have dinner after we wrap up this case?"

"I'd love that," Ianto smiled back before kissing Jack goodnight.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Martha was in the Pharm, waiting for the all clear to break into the office. Jack had retreated to his office for a few minutes, when Ianto brought him his coffee.

"Coffee, sir."

"Haven't we had several conversations about calling me sir."

"Yes, maybe because it turns you on is why I do it?" Ianto smiled back, "She'll be all right."

"I know she's faced far worse, but she's a fellow companion."

"Speaking of the Doctor's companions, I have a new report for you. It would seem Victoria(1) has become a grandmother."

"Waterfield?"

"Correct, sir."

"I'll have to remember to send her a card."

Jack smiled, for some time now he'd been locating and keeping in contact with what companions he could; after coming back from his last trip with the Doctor he'd had found more. Jack told Ianto that he had got more info while on the trip from the TARDIS.

Jack wanted to try and meet all of the ones he could,get their stories, and keep them alive as long as he could, being the Doctor's companion was an exclusive club and he felt they needed to stick together.

"By the way what's this I hear you want a UNIT cap?"

Jack smiled, "Someone's been sharing my secrets."

"More than one Martha asked me if we were together and how it was," Ianto smiled.

"Ohhhhhh….what did you say?"

"Just that we dabble and your innovative almost avant-garde," Ianto responded with a twinkle in his eye.

Suddenly the com came to life and Tosh's voice rang through, "Jack we'll be ready soon."

"We'll be right down."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

They had invaded the Pharm, destroyed the lab and the computer files, everything; they were about to load into the SUV when Professor Copley came back pointing a gun at them.

Ianto was standing a few paces behind Owen who was in front trying to reason with the man he had once admired. Ianto saw it a split second before Copley fired and started running towards Owen. He heard the gunfire as he knocked into Owen, pushing him down, and then pain exploded in his chest.

'Damn really should have told them' he thought.

He heard a second shot and he knew that meant Copley was dead. Then Owen was on him opening his shirt with Martha and Jack coming a split second later.

Jack took his hand as he gasped for air and in pain. "Hold on Ianto, please don't do this."

"I…to-ld…you," he gasped out.

Jack was crying, and he knew that then that part of the reason Jack didn't want to tell the others was he afraid it was a one off.

Ianto smiled weakly, "I…cho-se."

Jack nodded and gripped his hand as they loaded him into the SUV and sped to the HUB (2).

He could feel the darkness closing in, about the only thing he was aware of was Jack's hand in his; he vaguely knew he was being loaded into Autopsy, but he knew there was nothing Martha or Owen could do.

"Ja-ck." He gasped, he waited for Jack to squeeze his hand before continuing, "W-e…sho-uld…ha-ve…t-ol-d…th-em…It-'s…ti-me." He felt Jack squeeze his hand again and he knew Jack understood

And then darkness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Martha and Owen were rushing to save Ianto, but he understood what Ianto had told him.

"Stop." He said through tears.

"Jack we can still…"

"No he doesn't want that." He was crying. "And he's gone now anyways." God he prayed that he really would come back, he was finally happy. He didn't feel empty anymore. He didn't want to lose that, and damn it was selfish, but he didn't want to lose Ianto.

Martha and Owen had rushed to check Ianto, and with sad faces confirmed that there was nothing to be done. He distantly heard Gwen and Tosh above him start to sob, but all he could do was stare at Ianto.

"Jack I'm so…" Martha started.

"We were going to tell the team after all of this. He wanted to do it sooner, but I was scared."

"Tell us what Jack?" Tosh asked.

Before he could answer Ianto gasped back to life.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Pain and screams.

That was going to take some getting used to, but at least Jack's fears didn't hold true.

He looked around to see everyone looking at him. He looked back at Jack, "_THIS_is why I wanted to tell them sooner," he half glared at Jack, but Jack just looked so relieved he couldn't be too mad.

"I want to know what the BLOODY hell is going on NOW!" trust Owen to get to the point with his usual flare.

"Would you mind if I changed out of my bloody clothes _before_we start explaining?" It was going to be a long night.

OoOoO

"I can't believe that she did all that for you, it's amazing," Martha was being a true blue Companion. She wasn't fazed by the fact his life was now linked to Jack's; no she was amazed at who had done it.

Dinner in his apartment, which reminded him he wanted to talk to Jack about moving in, had just begun and of course the excitement of the night before was the first topic.

"Me either, it was and still is unbelievable, I hope I see her soon so I can tell her thank you."

"Jack I wanted to ask, how do you move on? I mean he left you before and you've moved on, it's just…Bugger I'm not asking this right." Ianto wasn't really sure what she was asking either but Jack seemed to.

Jack leaned back in his chair and took on a serious expression.

"Ya know I've talked to quite a few of his former companions. Companions either die while with him, leave him, or he leaves them. Life after the Doctor is a very different to life before the Doctor, and accepting that life without the Doctor can be the hardest part, especially if _we_weren't ready to leave. Sometimes I think he leaves us so we don't leave him, or maybe it's because he doesn't know how to stay, because sometimes even if he doesn't physically leave he does emotionally. Especially now, after the Time War. It's hard to say, because he trusts us with everything and nothing at the same time. That his companions were special to him I have no doubt, but I'm not sure he knows how to deal with caring for beings with such short lives compared to his, so he runs. But in the end however our time with him ends and it's the same, he takes ordinary people and makes them extraordinary, makes us better."

"So how do we do it, life after? We take what we've learned from him, who we've _become_because of him and try to apply it to where and when we are. We carry on, find purpose, find love," Jack smiled at Ianto, "and we live on always knowing that there's a Doctor shaped space inside us and sometimes we can fill that space with what he's given us."

Jack smile, "And we can help each other."

Ianto smiled, even if he had never been a Companion he understood what Jack said. He sometimes hated the Doctor for how he treated Jack, but he was also grateful, because the Doctor had help make the man that Jack was.

"Thank you," was Martha's response.

"The Doctor and the TARDIS are things that change your life, even mine and I wasn't a Companion. We should just be glad that it did I'd hate to imagine what Jack would have done if Bad Wolf hadn't intervined."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO  
1. This would be Victoria Waterfield companion of the Second Doctor, according to her Doctor Who wiki, she was alive as of 2008 and became a grandmother, the year is suspected but for this purpose it works well for me.  
2. I'm not a doctor, but the way I'm figuring it the way the bullet hit Ianto, upper left chest, was fatal but took longer than the original shot that killed Owen, I'm figuring he mostly bleed out somewhat slowly.


	3. Of Dominoes and Consequences

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N:** THIS IS NOT GWEN FRIENDLY! Do not complain if you ignore this warning.

**Of Dominoes and Consequences**

She couldn't believe it.

Ianto Jones' life was now _linked _to Jack's.

He was supposed to love _her_. Sure she had Rhys, she even wanted to keep him, and marry him, but Jack was every dream and fantasy she'd ever had come to life. Why shouldn't she be able to have him on the side?

But now those dreams were dashed by Ianto Jones. Sure she'd always known they were screwing but surely Jack was just substituting one welsh person for another. There's no way Ianto could compete with her.

Now two days after the revelation of Ianto now being able to revive from the dead, she was going to take the opportunity to confront Jack. Surely, Ianto had tricked him into giving this _gift_.

She looked down at her watch as she stood to go see Jack while Ianto did whatever it was he did. She was supposed to meet Rhys, but he'd understand this was very important.

She strode up to Jack's office door, flinging it open; surely whatever he was doing couldn't be more important than her. To her surprise Ianto was with him leaning in real close, _pretending_to show Jack paperwork.

She coughed loudly before asking, "Jack can we talk?"

Ianto looked at Jack, before saying "I'll just finish cleaning up and locking down while you talk. Then we can go home." He sidestepped Gwen to go around her to get down to the Hub.

Gwen seethed, how DARE he?

"What is it Gwen?"

Her attention was drawn back to Jack, and found her carefully rehearsed speech of 'Did he force you to do it?' and 'I could be so much better.' Gone. To buy herself time she sauntered over to his desk sitting on the corner.

"Why?"

"Sorry?"

"Why him? We both know I can give you so much more. This, whatever it is, between us is so _strong_. I _want_you Jack, I love you, you're everything I've ever wanted."

Jack looked shocked; maybe he hadn't expected her to acknowledge what was between them.

Jack rubbed his face with his hand before replying, "Why him? My God Gwen, there are so many answers to that question I don't know where to begin. But the question of 'why not you' has less answers but the most important to you should be just this one; Rhys."

"He wouldn't have to know, it could be our secret; us being together. Even if he finds out I can just Retcon him again. I've always believed in eating my cake," she grinned, placing a gentle hand on Jack's arm.

Only to have Jack wrench his arm away and physically push her off his desk, standing angrily.

"Then maybe these reason will be enough I _don't_ want YOU! You want to know why Ianto? Well, I love _him_. I've trusted him so much about myself, things _you'll_never know. Because I trust him that's why Bad Wolf came to him; then it was his choice."

She was seething now, "It still could have been me couldn't have it? Why are you fighting this? My God he can be a tosser." (1)

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

(Moments before in the main part of the Hub)

Ianto was busy tidying up while the computers completed remote notification, lock down, and shut down processes when he heard the gear door slide open.

To Ianto's shock, Rhys walked through the door.

"Err…hi? Have you seen Gwen? She was suppose to meet me?" Rhys asked as he walked through.

"Yes, however forgive me, but how did you get in? Authorization codes are required despite our relaxed atmosphere this is a restricted area."

"Oh…ummm….Gwen gave me the codes said and to come visit anytime I wanted. I didn't think it was a good idea necessarily, but when she didn't show up I was worried and she's not answering her phone, so I thought it couldn't hurt. Sorry about that."

Ianto sighed, Gwen again thinking she was above the rules and in charge.

"I understand, I do apologize but I must request you not come again, and I'll have to change the codes."

"No, no, I understand; sorry I knew this was a bad idea," Rhys looked embarrassed and apologetic.

Ianto sighed again, Rhys was a good guy with a good head on his shoulders. How he and Gwen got along was hard to imagine. However, if he loved her like he did there had to be something.

"Thank you; now Gwen she was talking to Jack…" He motioned Rhys leading him up to Jack's office. As they got closer they could hear Gwen speaking.

_"He wouldn't have to know it could be our secret; us being together. Even if he finds out I can just Retcon him again. I've always believed in eating my cake."_

"Then maybe these reason will be enough I don't want YOU! You want to know why Ianto, I love him. I've trusted him so much about myself, things you'll never know. Because I trust him that's why Bad Wolf came to him; then it was his choice."

Ianto looked at the shell-shocked Rhys before calmly opening the door.

_"It still could have been me couldn't have it? Why are you fighting this? My God he can be a tosser."_

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I suppose it could have been you, Gwen, possibly if you had died first. The simple way to answer that question is to ask another. When you were a child did you ever dream of a golden woman talking about a choice and a great love?"

Gwen looked at him like he had lost his mind, "What are you talking about? What would stupid dreams have to do you making Jack give you this _gift_? Even if I had why would I remember stupid dreams from when I was a child?"

Ianto smiled a sad smile. Poor Gwen, even if she had had the dreams she never understood; he doubted she ever would.

"The dreams were the beginning of it all. If you don't understand then you wouldn't have had the chance to make the choice. It wasn't something for Jack to give. All he did was love and trust me but that didn't make me unable to die. It was the Bad Wolf that did that, and only when I choose to accept it with all the joys and sorrows that come with it."

Gwen was clearly seething, but before she could retort she saw the stony faced Rhys just behind Ianto.

"Rhy!" she went from seething to shock in a millisecond, "I…that is…I mean…How long have you been there?"

"Have your cake and eat it, is it? Your little secret? Retcon me _again_?" Rhys was fuming now. Images had been flashing in his mind since Gwen's declaration Ianto was a "tosser". Him sitting with her on the couch. Her telling him she'd had an affair. Saying she'd made him forget. He didn't understand what was going on; what he was seeing and hearing it was all too much.

"Rhys…sweetie."

"Don't _sweetie _me! I don't even want to look at you right now. I'm leaving, you can find your own way home!"

Rhys stormed off, leaving a shocked Gwen and silent Ianto and Jack in his wake.

"Well I think that's enough excitement for one night. Ianto why don't you take Gwen home, I'll check on Rhys and then meet you at home."

Jack turned to gather his coat as Ianto started to herd Gwen to the door, but Gwen twisted from his grip to turn back to Jack.

"Jack…" she began.

Jack cut her off, "I do care about you, much like I care for Tosh, Owen and many others. You remind me of a dear friend; she believed in me when no one else did. But your _not_her and can never be her. I don't love you, I don't want you. If things were different could I have sex with you, be your lover? Yes, but I still wouldn't love you, I still wouldn't feel for you what I feel for Ianto. "

Jack turned to fully face the pair, "Dreams are well and good but our perfect dream people don't exist. They have faults and problems like everyone else and it's learning to love them because of those faults because it's part of who they are. You don't do that you hang on to the dreams and fantasies not allowing for a real person. This is one dream to give up Gwen."

Gwen's face fell at Jack's rejection.

Jack strode past Ianto and Gwen pausing adding, "If you try this again Gwen, that's it. The last two years will be gone and you'll back to walking a beat…you'll be fired and I won't feel bad about it."

As Jack left, Ianto took an arm around Gwen and guided her to his car to take her home. Jack was harsh, but it had to be done. Gwen was not one to take no for an answer. If she was sure she was right, leaving Jack with only the option to shatter her fantasy.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack found Rhys in a bar not far from the Hub drowning his sorrows.

As Jack sat down Rhys spoke, "I can't believe it, I mean I always knew she fancied you, but I never imagined."

Jack placed a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder.

"And I still love her DAMN IT! Even after I find out all that, I still love her and want to spend my life with her," he cried into his liquor.

Jack was thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I've loved a lot in my life. Yes, some have loved me more than I did them and some I loved more than they loved me. Loving is never easy in any situation, but some are harder than others. But the special ones, the ones you love until your heart explodes are always worth effort even if the effort isn't returned. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. You won't know unless you try.

"Or you can just dump her and move on broken hearted. Up to you," Jack added trying to lighten the mood.

Rhys was thoughtful for a moment, "I love her…I…she was wrong, is wrong…I…What did she mean retcon me again?"

Jack sighed, "Gwen tell you what retcon was?"

At Rhys nodded he continued, "Last year we discovered that some of our supply of retcon was missing but there was only enough to erase an hour at the most. We don't know the specifics, but after some investigating it would seem she gave it to you;. What she didn't want you to remember we're not sure."

"She told me she had an affair," Rhys said sadly, "I remembered earlier, maybe have been for a while. Told me that she gave me a drug to make me forget so I could forgive her, the bitch. I didn't and I won't; but damn it I still love her still want to marry her, still want to try."

"So what are you going to do?" Jack asked.

"Couples counseling, and if she doesn't agree, I'm walking away no matter how much I love her. She has hurt and betrayed me too much. If this doesn't work I'm through."

"The wedding?"

"I still want to go through with it if she does," at Jack's questioning look, "stupid I know but maybe part of me hopes that marrying me will help. Don't know if it'll do any good but I still want to."

"You are a very odd man, but a very brave and loyal one too," Jack smiled.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Later that night Jack crawled into bed next to his lover.

As he started to settle in for the night, Ianto turned over and they both leaned into kiss.

"What did you do with Rhys?"

"He's sleeping off the alcohol on the couch, he's remembered Gwen using Retcon on him."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what is he going to do?"

"He's got a plan that I'll tell you about it in the morning, but it sounds like there are going to be some changes in store for Gwen."

"Well it can wait for the morning," Ianto responded snuggling closer into Jack's embrace.

As Jack heard Ianto's breath even out, he could only think how life was affected by the choices they all make.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

1. Ok going off the Urban dictionary tosser typically refers to anyone of whom you have a low opinion, thus Gwen doesn't have a high opinion of Ianto at least at the moment so she's using the phrase.


	4. Something Old Something New

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**Title: Something Old Something New**

Jack saw Gwen dancing with her new husband. He was struck with a wave of nostalgia; weddings always reminded him of what he never thought he could have…a partner for life.

With that thought, he met Ianto's eyes from where his lover was acting as the DJ and smiled.

He slowly walked to where the newlyweds were dancing to take his turn with the bride. She reminded him of Rose in so many ways. Despite her flaws, that remembrance is why he kept giving her chances, even if she wasn't going to be getting as much slack. She had potential to be something extraordinary; perhaps it wasn't the Doctor's Companion type of extraordinary, but she still had potential. Whether she could _realize_ that potential was the question.

"Mind if I cut in?"

With Rhy's blessing, he began to dance with Gwen.

"Enjoy the honeymoon," he said, smiling.

"I will." She paused before continuing, "What will you do while I'm gone?"

"Oh, the usual," he said with a grin. "Pizza…with Ianto, save the world…with Ianto." As a joke he finished with, "And, of course, Ianto. In general, what we always do in Torchwood."

"Will you miss me?" Gwen asked, her eyes begging.

Oh boy, that was a loaded question. She definitely hadn't given up her "dreams" of having him as a lover, but he wouldn't lie. He'd just have to be clear.

"Always. You're family to me, just like Owen and Tosh. Rhys is a lucky man. A perfect husband; he's loyal brave, he's got a hell of swing on him, and best of all, he really loves you."

"I know," Gwen said almost sadly, "but you could love me too."

"No, I couldn't," he said with a slightly harsh tone.

He was saved from further confrontation by Ianto interrupting.

"May I…uh…"

Gwen answered "Yes" thinking Ianto wanted to dance with her-only to be caught off guard and slightly embarrassed when Ianto turned from her to dance with Jack.

The two of them were silent for a long time, just soaking up each other's presence.

Looking over at Tosh and Owen dancing closely, Ianto smiled and said, "It's a good thing Owen was experimenting with sprays again or he would have not been around to take Tosh to that fancy dinner he's planning."

"Oh? And how do you know about that?" Jack asked with a smile.

Ianto cocked his eyebrow at his lover before replying, "I know everything."

Jack continued to smile as he leaned in close to breathe in Ianto's scent.

"She still thinks that you'd jump into bed with her," Ianto stated after a moment of silence.

Jack sighed before answering, "I know, doesn't seem couple's counseling is helping her much."

"It might be more helpful if she didn't keep skipping sessions."

Jack pulled back a bit, just enough so he could kiss his lover, before separating from Ianto to sit with the others before clean up started.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hours later as the sun was rising, Jack walked into the darkened Hub, headed straight for his office and pulled out an old metal box. Inside he pulled out pictures, pictures of the ones he's loved.

As he was looking through them, remembering, he heard the alarm go off as Ianto entered the Hub.

"I thought I'd come make sure you didn't brood too long, sir," Ianto said with a warm smile. "You know, you really should take better care of those pictures, they won't last forever. I could help you with it if you want."

Jack looked up and felt his heart warm with Ianto's concern. Yes, Ianto was _extra_ extraordinary.

"I think that would be a great idea. It'd also be a great time to add some new pictures to the collection. But not today; for now, let's go home."


	5. Romantic Night An Interlude

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**NOT GWEN FRIENDLY AT THE END**, you have BEEN warned.

**A/N:** As this was 5 fills for my 2011 BINGO card it was originally posted in 5 separate parts, they will be posted in 1 part as they were intended to be read in sequence and to make it easier to read. The parts will be separated by oOo. The original subtitle will be listed in italics

For those interested the fills were (in order) Shower together, Candlelight sex, Cuddling, Moving in together, and Taxes.

One more thing portions of this have been **cut for content** if you want to read in full please go to my profile and visit my livejournal community, only visit the full story if you are of age, I am not responsible if you are reading inappropriate things.

**Romantic Night**

_Romantic Night: The Start of_

Jack tiredly followed his lover into Ianto's apartment after Ianto had collected him from the Hub and spared him from his gloomy brooding about past loves.

When they reached the living room he grabbed Ianto's hand, pulling him towards him for a kiss.

Ianto's hands came up over his shoulders, to cradle the base of his neck.

All too soon Ianto pulled away and looked at him in a way that made him feel like all the years of loneliness and pain were worth it.

Ianto leaned in for another short kiss before saying, "Why don't you relax in the shower while I set some things up? I know today wasn't easy for you."

Jack nodded wearily; even if he wanted to spend more time with Ianto, washing away the challenges of the day would be nice. After dealing with the disaster that was Gwen's wedding, fixing it while being painfully reminded of his own long-ago wedding, a shower to metaphorically wash it all away was just what he needed.

Jack stripped and turned on the shower head to warm up the water. When it was finally warm enough he stepped into the massaging spray and let the water wash over him.

Slowly he felt the trials of the day seep out of his skin into the spray of water that caressed his body.

Jack was lost in thought, thinking of nothing and everything, when he was surprised by the shower curtain being pushed to the side with a swish and Ianto stepping into the shower behind him.

Ianto pulled him close for a deep, soul-searing kiss, before pulling back and asking with a smile, "Want me to wash your back?"

"Only if I can do your front and back," Jack answered with a devilish grin.

"Seems then there would be unequal washing," Ianto replied, turning Jack around to wash his back.

"Oh, I don't know, seems fair to me," Jack said with his trademark grin still in place, slowly turning his back to the spray as he grabbed the soapy rag from Ianto.

Jack languidly soaped Ianto all over his body, paying special, agonizing attention to his favorite parts to tease.

Ianto was pleasantly moaning and Jack starting to get hard in response to his lover's pleasure, when Ianto grabbed his soapy hand.

"Why don't we take this somewhere more comfortable," Ianto gasped.

Jack leaned in to lick Ianto's neck, pulling another moan from his lover before answering, "This seems like it'd be just fine."

Ianto reached behind Jack to turn off the water. "No, I'd really prefer this time taking it somewhere else."

Then Ianto stepped out of the shower, quickly drying off and walking out towards his bedroom, leaving Jack to dazedly follow in his footsteps.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Romantic Night: Mood by Candlelight_

Confused, Jack followed Ianto into his bedroom. It was lit with flickering candlelight, and Ianto reclined on the bed, his legs spread in an oh-so-inviting way.

Jack let out a small laugh despite his still-burning arousal from earlier. "Wanted to make tonight a scene from a stereotypical romance drama?"

Ianto gave him a grin that somehow looked sweet and feral at the same time.

"Clichéd, I know. However, I thought something so traditionally romantic would be nice after the 24 hours we just had."

"Hmm….can't argue with that," Jack said, climbing onto the bed and over his lover's prone and waiting form.

"You should never argue with me," Ianto replied, circling his arms around Jack's neck as they began to kiss again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Romantic Night: Snugglers_

After a few hours of fantastic love-making Jack and Ianto snuggled together in a sweaty tangle of bodies.

Ianto rested his head on Jack's chest. His lover's body had finally relaxed after the Wedding from Hell.

Ianto knew Gwen's wedding would bring up a lot of memories for Jack, both good and bad. What he hadn't expected was how heavy those memories would weigh on Jack's mind, making his whole body tense.

He cuddled closer to his lover's side, listening to his heart beat. Sometimes he didn't know how Jack had endured the loneliness, loving people and then having to lose them through his own plans or to death.

Ianto frowned. He had every hope and desire that this would not happen again for his lover. He had no intention of leaving Jack unless they agreed to take some time apart, and that would be the _only_ reason as far as he was concerned.

This was forever for him; Jack was it. Jack was the one he had been told he could have a great love with ever since he could remember.

He was committed, and he knew Jack was, too.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Romantic Night: Question_

"Do you remember what you said earlier, at the Hub?" Ianto asked.

"Hmm…I'm sure I said lots of things," Jack replied with a feral smile.

Ianto lightly swatted his lover's chest before continuing, "Not anything like that. You said, 'Let's go home.'"

Jack blushed just a bit. "Oh. Uh…well, it's just a figure of speech…we do spend most of our off time here, so…uhh…"

Ianto laughed lightly and silenced Jack with a kiss.

"No need to ramble. You see, I've been meaning to ask for awhile now. You have most of your personal things here and I was wondering...do you want to officially move in with me?"

Jack stared dumbly at Ianto for a moment.

"Do you realize how long it's been since I lived with someone? I might be unbearable," Jack said sheepishly, thinking about how long it had been since he lived with someone, truly lived with them, and didn't just stay over some nights.

Ianto laughed again, pushing himself up to be eye level with Jack. "Well first of all, seems to me we've been living together for some time now, we'd just be making it official. Secondly, you are not unbearable to live with, and if you were we'd have a serious problem since I'm going to be with you until the end of our days."

Jack just stared at him for a moment before breaking into a wide grin.

"Sounds like a fantastic plan."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_Romantic Night: The Morning After __or __One of Two Guarantees_

Jack was daydreaming about the wonderful night he and Ianto had shared. A dreamy smile crossed his face...yes, last night was a good night, a wonderful night indeed. First a steamy shower, then making love with Ianto, then cuddling, and finally Ianto asking him to officially move in.

It had been a fantastic night.

Ianto had filled out the paperwork this morning to change his address from the Hub to Ianto's apartment; after it was processed later today he'd be officially moved in since most of his personal items were already at Ianto's-at least the ones safe to have out of the Hub, that is.

"Do you have a moment?" Ianto asked as he knocked on the open door.

Jack smiled broadly as he said, "Always."

"While I was filling out your change of address form I noticed some other personnel forms needed organizing, so after I finished yours I started on the others and I discovered some forms were not filled out."

"Oh, what?"

"It would seem Gwen…" Ianto was cut off by Gwen barging into Jack's office.

Startled to see her there Jack asked, "Aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon?"

"We're leaving in a few hours; I wanted to make sure you didn't need me for anything before we go. Did I hear you say my name as I was coming in? I'm sure if you need me we can postpone."

Jack held up his hand to silence her. "Ianto was saying he found a problem with some personnel forms. Ianto, could you continue?"

"Of course, sir. It would seem when Gwen was hired her income tax forms were not filled out."

"Tax forms? What tax forms?" Gwen asked, confused.

"They were in the stack of forms I gave you to fill out on your second day; normally we'd have them done on the first, however, your first day was rather eventful."

Gwen looked at him wide-eyed for a moment before responding, "Ohhhhhh, those. Well, I ignored them since you said we were above the government."

She blinked innocently at them

Jack scowled at her in return. "This is a serious problem, Gwen. Ianto, can you start the paperwork to get this corrected and get the back taxes paid? We'll see what we can do so you won't have to pay thousands in one go, but we can't guarantee."

"WHAT? But we're beyond the government!"

Jack and Ianto just shared a look before Ianto responded, "Beyond the government or not, Gwen, there's two things you can't escape: death and taxes."

He paused for a moment.

"Well, okay, Jack and I _sort_ of escape death, but not really, since we actually do die."

Gwen just huffed and stormed out.


	6. Out of Routines

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N** This was also a fill for my 2011 BINGO, for the prompt Habits and Routines

**Out of Routines**

Jack was about to close down the Hub for the night and pamper Ianto. It had not been the best day; they'd only been able to save one boy from the Night Travelers. And they would have lost Owen, if not for Tosh's timely arrival to distract the Ghostmaker and the ability of both to run very fast.

He'd sent Ianto home a few hours ago, followed by the others about an hour ago. Ianto was taking it hard that he'd only been able to save the one child and that this child was now left orphaned.

The lights dimmed more as he initiated the last of the shut down protocols, and he was about to leave for the night when he saw a light in one of the side rooms Ianto sometimes used to presort artifacts for the archives. Slowly, Jack approached and peered in.

Seated there, staring at his empty hands, was Ianto, looking like he had the world on his shoulders and had just fumbled it.

"Hey, you okay?" Jack asked as he slowly eased behind his lover, putting his hands on his tense shoulders.

"I had them in my hands and I let them slip away, Jack," Ianto said with a dejected sigh.

Feeling Ianto's shoulders tense more under his hands, Jack started to massage them.

His hands moved in a slow, comforting rhythm as he answered his lover, "That wasn't your fault. The Ghostmaker attacked you to take their breaths back; there wasn't anything you could have done differently short of growing wings, which, let me tell you, is not easy even with the right tech."

"It's just that…" Ianto paused and Jack quietly continued massaging his shoulders while he waited for him to continue. "It's just that, that little boy is alone now and I feel like I should have done something more."

Jack sighed and said, "Hey, let's move this conversation somewhere a bit more comfortable."

He guided his lover to the nearby couch Ianto kept in the room in case a nap was needed.

After he seated himself next to Ianto, he held Ianto's hands in his and waited for Ianto to meet his eyes.

"That's kinda the problem with this job. We get so used to almost _always_ saving everyone or saving almost everyone, it becomes the routine. Then we have the times when we don't save the majority, where we only save one, and it feels like we failed. But Ianto, we-

_you_-still saved that one and that's still just as important as saving everyone. Because as hard as it is to just save the one, there still might be a time when we can save none."

Ianto's tear-filled eyes bored into his before he answered, "You're right, I know you're right, but damn it! It still feels like I should have been able to do more!"

Jack thought for a moment. "Maybe, maybe not; it's impossible to tell now. Personally, I don't think so, but this isn't necessarily a bad feeling, Ianto."

His lover gave him a confused look.

He smiled as he continued, "It means you still care. As long as a person cares, that person will do everything they can to save as many as they can. Sometimes that will mean everyone, and sometimes that will mean only one. That's why I think—no, I _know_—you couldn't have done anything more."

Jack pulled Ianto close before continuing, "As small it is, saving one is still a victory. So we take the time to celebrate the one we did save, time to mourn those we weren't able to save, and hope next time our everything is enough to save everyone.

As he finished, Ianto started to cry his grief. Jack just held him and murmured in his ear as he rocked him.


	7. Anchoring the Adrift

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N** This was also a fill for my 2011 BINGO, for the prompt **Missing Persons**

**A/N2: **NOT very Gwen friendly, you have been WARNED

**Anchoring the Adrift**

Ianto followed Jack as he stormed out of the meeting after Gwen demanded they investigate the missing people, or at least help those left behind. People who were taken by the Rift.

"I told you she wouldn't let it go," he said, putting a hand on Jack's arm.

Jack turned toward him, obviously upset. "Damn it! Why can't she just listen for once?"

"Because she's Gwen?" Ianto responded, raising his eyebrow before continuing, "You do know she's not going to let this drop, don't you?"

"Can't a guy hope?" Jack asked. At Ianto's look he sighed.

"I know, but I don't…I don't want to tell them…tell her. She thinks everything is fixable, and it's not. Hell, I'd have probably told Tosh and Owen by now if I wasn't sure how Gwen would be."

"Overbearing and demanding that we return everyone to their families?" Ianto replied with a small smile before sobering to continue, "She'll find out one way or the other. Would you rather her barging in where angels fear to tread, or have some control over the situation?"

"What do you suggest?"

"If she still keeps going, let's give her what she wants, but on our terms."

"I don't like it, I really don't, but I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Not really," Ianto said with a reassuring smile.

"Alright, I'll also arrange a meeting with Owen and Tosh; if the reason I wasn't telling them is gone now there's no sense waiting."

"I'll make preparations," Ianto replied with a nod.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Gods, I have to remind myself her tenacity is a good thing sometimes," Jack said as Ianto rejoined him in the hot house.

Ianto just looked at him for a moment.

"I know, you don't have to say 'I told you so.' Why do you always have to be right?"

"For the record, it's because I know everything, but I'm not always right," Ianto said with a warm smile.

"So did you?"

"Yeah, knowing Gwen she should be there tomorrow, lucky it's your normal day to visit so no need to make an excuse for coming another day."

"Will you be there?"

"Yes, I want to do some inventory any way, I'll be near if you need me," Ianto replied with a smile.

Jack sighed. "Now just to get through tomorrow."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Jack, if you lost someone wouldn't you want to know?" Gwen asked, trying to convince Jack to let her bring Nikki to Flat Holm.

Jack thought of Gray. Did he want to know? Yes, but was it the same?

"That's not exactly a fair question," Ianto replied, startling them both.

"Ianto, I didn't realize you were here," Gwen said, surprised.

Ianto ignored her before continuing. "Jack grew up where aliens are the norm and time travel a government job. If he were in that situation he'd understand better than most in this time period the ramifications of what these victims have been through. Ms. Bevan would not."

"He's right, Gwen."

Gwen looked enraged and rounded on Ianto. "Well, what about you, Ianto, wouldn't you want to know?"

Ianto just shook his head. "Still not exactly fair to ask any of us that, since we're Torchwood, but the me from before I joined Torchwood? I was just a child when my dad left with no note. If he were to have been taken by the Rift and he was at Flat Holm, and you had told me before I joined Torchwood and lived Torchwood some, I would not have been prepared to deal with what the Flat Holm residents deal with."

Gwen seethed.

"There's your answer, Gwen, and it's still no," Jack said as he stood up and walked away with Ianto, leaving Gwen alone on the rocky shore.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next night, Gwen stood solemnly in front of her wall of missing people.

Jack felt sorry for her; she had just learned the hard lesson that not everything or everyone can be fixed, but this conversation had to happen.

"Didn't I tell you not to bring her?"

"I thought she deserved to know, to have her son back. She even took the time travel and aliens well, but I never thought it could be as bad as it was."

"Deserved to have her son back? Hmm…interesting idea, and very noble, except one thing, Gwen."

He paused, waiting for Gwen to look at him.

"He can't be the son she remembered. He's lived forty years in Hell; none of them can go back to who they were, who their families remember and expect to find again."

"It's just not fair," she cried.

"It's no different than anyone else. I can't go back to who I was years ago; neither can you. You're a different person than you were four years ago. It's the nature of living beings and time."

"Where's Ianto?"

"Retconning Nikki."

At Gwen's surprised looked he continued, "In this we can let her have her hope back; we'll see if we can do something to at least give her closure, maybe a body." He held up his hand when he saw she was about to interject. "JUST Nikki Bevan, and only because you dragged her into it. We are not here to make people feel better; if that's what you want to do, Torchwood isn't the place for you."

Gwen's mouth clicked closed and she looked somewhere between devastated and enraged.

"Go home to your husband."

"Oh, and Gwen?" Jack added as she started to storm out, "You're suspended for three days without pay and on probation for the next month, and we'll be discussing what you're supposed to do when your boss and leader gives you an order. When you get back, be prepared to help Ianto with cleaning duties."

Gwen gave him a look that could kill as he breezed by her to his office to wait for his lover to return.


	8. Fragmenting Exits

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**Fragmenting Exits**

"Or maybe they're not creatures," Tosh said quietly over the comms as Ianto came to stand over a box-like object—a box-like object with a countdown.

He barely registered Jack's observations of explosives or Owen's curse as he tried to find some form of cover.

Then nothing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next thing he remembered was being buried under rubble and trying to pull himself out, only for shooting pain to course through his shoulder.

He wasn't sure if he had died; but regardless, this wasn't a good situation.

Were the others alright? God, the pain! Would he ever get out?

"Ianto!" he heard Jack's far-off voice call for him.

Unwillingly, his mind flashed to when he had met the man who would be the love of his life.

He had done everything he could to get a job at Jack's Torchwood, including lying. He had hidden himself from them and lied to them, all for the shell of the woman he thought was_ "the one_,_"_ but in the end that was not the truth.

Those first days he had felt so conflicted because even then he was starting to feel that undeniable, soul-deep attraction to Captain Jack Harkness.

He counted himself lucky that in those first days after his betrayal was known he was not only given a second chance; he was given forgiveness.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Jack removing the beam that was on top of him.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The weevils were overrunning the city; Ianto had just finished reporting that they couldn't make it to the nuclear power station in time.

After a moment Owen replied, "I can do it. I've been working on a spray to go unnoticed by weevils; I have it with me."

"Not another spray, Owen," Ianto said, exasperated.

"Look, we've been wanting to know about their lives, right? I noticed they ignore dead things, so I've been working on something that, once sprayed with the stuff, causes them to ignore you."

"And has it worked?" Tosh asked.

"I haven't been able to get Jack to approve testing yet."

Tosh and Ianto shared a look; they didn't want any of the team to face unnecessary danger, but they had to get to that reactor.

"How confident are you it will work?" Ianto asked.

"Confident enough to risk my life."

In the end they were all Torchwood; and danger was just part of an ordinary day.

Tosh nodded.

"Go; and Owen, make sure you're back in time for Jack to yell at you."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

First John-Bloody-Hart, now Jack's brother-Jack's apparently _psychotic_ brother. Ianto was beginning to think that no one from Jack's past was sane; but then, this _was_ Jack.

Ianto almost felt sorry for Gray, with the undeniable horrors this man had seen; but all that pity was negated by the fact he had taken his lover, buried him for 2000 years and destroyed his city.

While John and Gwen distracted Gray he pulled out his own handheld; it wasn't anywhere near as useful as Tosh's, but the two of them had long since worked out that a signaling system might be necessary someday.

Seemed that day was today.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As Tosh just finished explaining the reactor had already hit the critical point, she heard her handheld beep.

She looked down to see the message:

**Intruder**

**Team captive**

**DANGER**

"Can you fix it?" Owen asked.

"Of course, I'm brilliant," she said. After a few quick taps on her keyboard to make sure her handheld was connected to the reactor's systems, she explained what she would do and then grabbed her gun.

She could lie in wait for the intruder, but the nuclear reactor was priority so she would tuck herself in a spot out of sight.

She had just ducked into a corner near Autopsy when she heard footsteps.

Quietly she kept tapping away at her handheld to take care of the reactor; she also kept her gun ready, just in case.

It was awkward, especially with her extremely limited mobility in her left arm, but she wasn't brilliant for nothing.

Then there was a banging sound that reverberated throughout the Hub.

"What is that?" the intruder cried before rushing to wherever the sound originated.

One crisis down…for now, at least.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Tosh, talk to me; I need your help here, babe," Owen pleaded urgently over the comms.

"Working on it," she replied.

After a moment she said, "Okay, I got it; Owen, we don't have much time before the meltdown is inevitable."

"Then we better hurry, my brilliant genius; you do owe me a third date, after all."

"Thought we were on the fourth?"

"Usually you have to leave each other to count the date as ending," he said. She could hear his grin through the comms. "Let's do this, Tosh."

"Owen, there's a possibility of power surges which would cause a lock down; so if I say run, run."

"Got it, now shall we continue with saving the day?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ianto looked on at his lover as Jack stood at the edge of the rooftop.

He slowly made his way towards Jack, coming to stand just behind him, and placed a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder.

They were silent for a moment, just staring at the setting sun.

"I was worried we'd never find you again," Ianto said quietly, breaking the silence. "And when I heard they had buried you, 2000 years ago…I…Jack, I was so worried, about so many things; that you...wouldn't…remember."

Jack turned to face Ianto, bringing one hand to cradle Ianto's face.

"I _do_ remember, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack said with a sedate smile.

Jack brought his forehead to Ianto's before saying, "I don't think I was conscious the whole time, or maybe even a majority; there just comes a point where you don't revive anymore; but it was my amends to Gray."

Ianto sighed before pulling back and saying, "As much as I _hate_ agreeing with John Hart, I do agree with him on this; it really isn't your fault, Jack, and even if it was, I would think all the pains you've suffered in your life would be penance enough."

"I..." Jack paused before continuing, "...I understand what you're saying; and maybe even part of me agrees. But another part of me, the me that is that ten-year-old boy, thinks it was his fault. The same ten-year-old whose parents would make him and his brother make it up to each other if they hurt each other, by accident or on purpose.

"But destroying everything I care about for no other reason than I care about it? I know that was wrong; I know he's broken, probably beyond repair. Maybe I thought that if he had revenge on me it'd help him; it didn't. My Gods, Ianto, even when he thought I was gone forever, he wanted to destroy all of you and Cardiff; if I was really gone, that wouldn't have hurt me. That…that was just…insane."

Ianto nodded.

"Whatever happened to him, I think we both know he was no longer sane. Jack, even if you believed you needed penance for being a scared child and letting go, those 2000 years should have more than made up for that."

Jack looked into Ianto's eyes before looking away quietly for a moment, then nodding solemnly.

Ianto pulled him into a close hug and said, "Do you remember what you told me after the Ghostmaker?"

At Jack's confused look Ianto continued, "You told me that we can't always save everyone, and we're adults. How could you, as a child, be expected to do more than you can as an adult?"

As Jack's eyes began to light up with understanding, Ianto finished, "You also told me that we take the time to mourn the ones we didn't save and hope the next time we can save everyone. Jack, you couldn't save Gray—definitely not now, and maybe not then—but Jack, look at this city. Yes, it's a city in ruins, but it's still here and many more of its citizens are here _because_ of you and your Torchwood."

Jack looked out at the city—ruined, but still alive.

"You're right."

"Of course I am, I know everything," Ianto replied cheekily before sobering. "Really, what are you going to do with Gray?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Nothing for now, but he really won't be fixed in stasis, and probably not even out here. Maybe John was right and killing him would have been better, but I can't now, not in cold blood. I just don't know anymore."

"Could therapy in a future time help him?" Ianto asked.

"Maybe, in a few centuries."

"Might I suggest keeping him in stasis until that time, and try and get him help then? If they can't, arrange for him to have a trial somehow." Ianto hesitated before continuing, "And if he dies because of some malfunction before that, consider it the Universe demanding punishment."

Jack looked at him for a moment, possibly considering that Ianto thought to _cause_ a malfunction, and seemed to weighed the ramifications of that.

"It's more than I had thought of," Jack said sadly. He stepped away and resumed staring out into the city.

"Jack?" Ianto said, getting Jack's attention. "Why don't we go home and enjoy a bubble bath and then curl up on the couch? I think we could both use some time to remember we're here and alive."

Ianto extended his hand, waiting for Jack to take it.

Jack slowly took Ianto's hand in his, a watery smile on his face.

As they walked away, Ianto said, "I'm here, Jack. I'll always be here."


	9. Journeys and Thanks

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N** This was also a fill for my 2012 BINGO, for the prompt Journeys and Quests

Also, the end is near...as there is only one more installment to go (I'm trying to plot it out but as it's COE and I never watched it it's slow going)

**Journeys and Thanks**

"EXTERMINATE!" was the repeated chant through the radio waves as Earth was invaded.

"No, no, it can't be," Jack said as he paled.

"Oh my God, no, not again," Ianto said in turn.

"What? What is it?" Gwen asked, Owen and Tosh sharing similar expressions of confusion.

"Daleks," Jack answered grimly.

"They were in the Tower; those that the Cybermen didn't convert, the Daleks exterminated," Ianto said. His eyes seemed hollow as he started into the distance, reliving the massacre.

Jack, putting professional distance aside for the time, engulfed Ianto in a hug. Ianto grasped at him, as if afraid Jack would disappear, in return.

A few minutes later Jack released Ianto, turning to the team.

"Either the Doctor shows up and we do everything in our arsenal to help, or we all die."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After receiving the video conference with the Doctor and other companions, Jack knew what he had to do.

A Companion would always, as long as he or she was able, come to the Doctor's aid.

As Jack was making the necessary adjustments to his vortex manipulator and other preparations, Ianto came into his office.

"Off to the Doctor?" Ianto asked as he sat on Jack's desk.

Jack nodded solemnly before saying, "I _will_ be back. I'll be back for _you_. But I have to go help."

Ianto nodded with a small smile as he said, "I know, but please be careful; I know these monsters haunt your nightmares as much as they haunt mine."

Jack nodded in agreement, pulling Ianto down for a kiss.

As they broke apart, Ianto said, "There's another reason I came to speak to you." At Jack's nod he continued, "I have received word from our network of Companions, they and even their families are resisting to the best of their ability, trying to inspire the people in their communities to not be afraid."

Jack smiled sadly as he said, "Once a Companion, always a Companion. I just hope we don't lose anyone to these monsters."

"Many have at least passing knowledge of Daleks; to my understanding they are exercising caution, but I did ask them all to be careful as well. I also received intel that indicates Sarah Jane plans to take more direct action."

Jack laughed, saying, "That's really no surprise, she did end up in our conference with the Doctor."

Jack hoped that after this, Sarah Jane would be willing to talk to him now; whenever he had tried to in the past she had shut him down, only noticing that he was Torchwood, and would not hear anything more.

She was a Companion, and he wanted to make sure she knew that the rest of them out there could be there for her if she wanted.

"I wonder if the Doctor realizes just how many of the people he's chosen are still fighting for him right now," Ianto said contemplatively.

Jack shook his head. "I doubt it, and I doubt he ever will."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack looked at his team as he was about to transport to the Doctor.

They were his team, and he was so proud of them.

"I'll be back, and I expect everyone to welcome me back," he said with a cheeky grin before sobering and continuing, "We're Torchwood and we don't give up."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Daleks will breach the Hub security in 3 minutes," Tosh declared from her station.

Owen marched to the armory, Ianto close behind. They opened the lock, pulling out the heavy artillery guns.

"I'll be damned if I go down without a fight," Owen said, tossing a gun, safety still on, to Gwen.

The team all nodded in solemn agreement.

"Two minutes!" Tosh stated, typing furiously, gun an inch away ready to begin fire.

Ianto, Owen and Gwen lined up, taking aim at the entrance. Ianto took the front; if there was an immediate shot he wanted it to hit him first and give the others some time.

"Thrity seconds!" Tosh was still typing at an unnatural pace.

"On my mark, fire at will!" Ianto called.

"Ten seconds!"

"FIRE!"

As he called out the order he heard Tosh stop typing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After a full minute of nonstop fire, Ianto realized that the Daleks were not moving. Even if by some miracle they had stopped one, others would have moved by now.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" he called.

As Owen and Gwen ceased their fire, the Daleks still did not continue their approach.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

"A time lock," Tosh answered. "I've been working on it as a last line of defense, but I wasn't sure if it would work."

"Time lock?" Owen asked.

"A bubble of time is created around the Hub. On either side of the bubble, time is continuing as normal; however, within the bubble it is different—possibly stopped. Those within the bubble cannot leave it; they're essentially frozen in place."

Her face grew sad as she continued, "Unfortunately, because of the barrier we cannot communicate with the other side until it is shut down, even though we are moving at the same rate of time as before."

Ianto looked up at the distant ceiling of the Hub, looking beyond to where his lover and captain was fighting and helping the Doctor to save them all.

"Then all we can do is have faith in Jack," he said.

The others joined him in looking up in silent agreement.

They would believe in their Captain.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack looked up from his station where he was piloting the TARDIS to guide Earth back to where she belonged.

Rose had a distant look for a split second.

He looked back at the console in front of him.

Now, he realized—now was the exact moment the TARDIS made the Bad Wolf to send out the choice, the choice Ianto made.

This was the moment she gave him the most precious gift he could imagine, a gift he received a year ago.

He closed his eyes and tried to speak to her as she had to him oh, so long ago, when the year of torture was coming to an end.

She touched him back.

_Yes, My Jack; I will not see you lose all that you love_.

He smiled warmly; she had given him everything.

And all he could say to this oh-so-special being was, "Thank you."

"What was that, Jack?" asked the Doctor.

Jack beamed as he answered, "Nothing, Doctor, nothing at all; just a beginning."


	10. Childern of Deliverence

**Disclaimer:** RTD and BBC (and all that it entails) owns them and all rights, if I owned them I would have fic writers doing the scripts, regardless of what RTD thinks (hmmm assassin!Ianto, Empath!Ianto, or vampire!Ianto or even all three as cannon, that'd be fun)

**A/N:** THIS IS NOT GWEN FRIENDLY! Do not complain if you ignore this warning.

**A/N2:** This is the last chapter I will likely be moving Fragile Dreams to here as it's not really the conclusion.

"And _why_ do we need another doctor, when we have _me_?" Owen asked as they watched Gwen approach Dr. Rupesh Patanjali on the Plass above. "And why are we letting Cooper up there to talk to him?"

"We need an upgrade to someone cuter," Jack replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Ianto just rolled his eyes at his lover.

"We would like for you to actually not be on call all the time and enjoy some time off. Silly us, thinking you'd like to spend some time with _someone_," Ianto's gaze drifted to Tosh's workstation as he continued, "outside of work without having to worry about being the only one available to do some doctor 'stuff.' Everyone else's responsibilities can be handled at least to some extent by another member of the team; unfortunately, cutting open things with any sort of skill is a bit beyond everyone else's range of knowledge."

Owen had the sense to look abashed before continuing.

"Fair enough, and appreciated; however, that doesn't explain why we're letting Gwen talk to him and why we're repeating the process that got us Gwen to begin with."

Ianto continued to work at the station, switching one of the monitors to find Tosh, who was getting lunch for the team.

"We're letting her talk to him because if _she_ doesn't scare him off, _nothing_ will," Jack replied with a grin. "We didn't actually plan the recruitment that way, we had been doing some background on him and he happened to be the doctor we talked to while dealing with the alien parasite, and then he saw the parasite, and, well…"

Jack just shrugged as if to say, _what did you want me to do, let the opportunity go to wast_e?

Owen rolled his eyes as he headed back to Autopsy, muttering about how this would blow up in their faces _again_.

"She's calling us a couple now," Ianto said, glancing at his lover.

"Is that a problem?" Jack asked with a return glance.

"Just saying, I wasn't sure she'd ever admit it," Ianto said, resuming his monitoring of the Plass.

"I hate the word 'couple,'" Jack said suddenly.

"Oh?" Ianto said, rising to be eye level with Jack.

"Anything can be a 'couple': a couple of mates, a couple of ships, a couple of quid, a couple of bunnies, a couple of tentacles. Just being a 'couple' doesn't really say the level of commitment two people in a relationship have. Really, no word describes how much I love you and how much we mean to each other, but out of all the possibilities—lovers, partners, husbands—a 'couple' seems the most understated."

Ianto stood speechless for a moment before kissing Jack.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Tosh deposited the lunch at the conference table as everyone planned out their next course of action with the children.

"If I could examine a child it might go a long way to explaining what is going on," Owen said as he shoveled Chinese into his mouth.

Tosh hit him lightly on the back of the head, saying, "Manners."

"There was also one adult, a man at Duke Of York Hospital, East Grinstead, that was speaking in unison with the children," Gwen said, pressing a button. An image of a man in a hospital room appeared on the screen behind Jack.

Jack frowned as he watched the footage.

"That's a few hours from here. Gwen, go interview him and see if we can find anything out."

"Right, I'll head out now, I have to stop and talk to Rhys on the way anyway," Gwen said as she stood up to leave.

After she left, Tosh looked at Jack, who was still frowning at the screen.

"Anything wrong, Jack?"

"I feel like I should recognize him, but I don't know why," Jack replied before spinning back around to address the team. "So, we need a child? Tosh, has our equipment been able to pick anything up?"

"I've been going through all our scans during the times of the incidents and nothing stands out, but that doesn't mean it's not there, just that I don't know to look for it, unfortunately. I'll keep looking, but I think Owen's right—we'll need a child to find anything out."

"Right. Anyone know a child?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"You do realize it'd make much more sense for me to take my car to my sister's rather than the SUV?"

Jack turned to his lover.

"Probably, Alice will pitch a fit if I did; tell you what, I think that maybe Torchwood should be in the background of this."

"I don't like this, Jack; this isn't just lying to them, this is putting them right in the middle of it."

Jack sighed.

"You're right, and I don't like it much either; but with us, at least we know the kid or kids will be safe as opposed to with UNIT. But we have to find out what's going on, otherwise more than just the kids we're related to will be in danger."

It was Ianto's turn to sigh.

"I know, sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but it gets harder when 'the few' are the ones we care about."

"But that's why Torchwood is here; we make the tough choices so the people out there won't have to."

Jack leaned in, kissing Ianto goodbye, before they both climbed into their cars to visit their families.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"What do you think you're doing?" Owen bellowed as he saw Gwen attempting to use one of his medical scanners.

"I need to check something!"

"Hello, doctor here, if you think something is wrong I'm supposed to be the one doing the checking!"

"I might be pregnant!" Gwen bellowed back.

"Give me that," Owen said, snatching the scanner from Gwen. "Have you lost your mind? You do not check for pregnancy by using an alien tech scanner! There's a reason why we don't confirm pregnancies that way!"

He reached into a drawer and then tossed her something slender, wrapped in silver.

"Use that."

"What is it?"

"A pregnancy test."

"What?! With all this technology, you want me to confirm a pregnancy with a _pregnancy test_?"

"Owen, why do you have pregnancy tests in the drawer?" Tosh asked from above them, raising her eyebrow.

"One: I have pregnancy tests in the drawer because you'd be surprised how universally similar pregnancy hormones are. Two: Yes, Gwen, because the sane way to check for a pregnancy is to look for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin, not expose a potential fetus to alien radiation used in scanners. Now take the test into the bathroom and pee on the stick!"

Gwen huffed before going into the bathroom.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Gwen was just coming out of the bathroom as Jack was entering the HUB.

"Oh my God, he was right, I'm pregnant."

"That's great!" Jack said, beaming, before bumping into Owen who was still holding the scanner.

Suddenly, the scanner went off.

"Uhh…Jack?" Owen said.

"What is it?" Jack said in alarm.

"Give me a second," Owen said, fiddling with the controls of the scanner.

"Bloody hell, Harkness! It's a bomb! And it's about to go off!"

Everyone stood in shock for a moment, before Ianto swooped in, grabbing Jack by the arm.

"Tosh! Get us in lock down, now!"

That shook Jack out of his stupor.

"Gwen, go down to the lower levels—they'll be the most secure," Jack said, pulling away from Ianto and heading down the corridors to a door, his team following.

"I'm not leaving you, Jack."

"You're pregnant; you have more to worry about than this team or even the world at the moment. Everyone, take cover once I'm inside in case this doesn't hold."

"Lock down will commence in two minutes. Jack, what are you doing?" Tosh asked.

"Torchwood has always been prepared for everything. During the War, it was made sure there was a section of the HUB that could withstand bombings. If it can withstand it from the _outside_, I'm hoping it'll take it from the _inside_."

"Jack, you can't be serious, that bomb will rip you apart!" Owen exclaimed.

"Dead serious. I'll come back. But I expect all of you to get to the bottom of this until I do, because I'll bet anything this is related," Jack said, ripping open the door to the bomb shelter.

"Jack?" Ianto asked.

Jack pulled Ianto close, kissing him, and handed him his vortex manipulator.

"I always come back—always come back to you. Everyone, take shelter, just in case."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The shelter did hold; the HUB shook with the force of the bomb, causing a mess, but everything was intact and the structural integrity was still sound.

Now they just had to wait for Jack to return to them, and, in the meantime, figure out what was going on.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Rhys is on his way; are you sure it's alright for him to come?"

"We've been specifically targeted; it's safe to say, anyone we're in close contact with on the outside is in danger. Ianto contacted his sister and someone for Jack, and I've sent word to our contacts on the police force to be careful—all using secure lines, of course," Tosh replied as she continued typing.

"It looks like they're already freezing all of our accounts; they're trying to leave us with no resources. There's a suspicious group of confused-looking people up on the Plass; undoubtedly they counted on the HUB being destroyed," Ianto said.

"We need to try and get in touch with our government contacts; Gwen, can you try to call John Frobisher and…?"

"We might want to rethink that idea; I've just finished comparing the scans I got with the references in Tosh's database, and the bomb was made by our own bloody government."

"Looks like we'll need to go to London, once Jack is back with us."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was hours later that they started to hear it. Screaming.

"Jack?"

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Rhys asked.

Owen checked his scanners.

"Jack, his body…his body is reforming. I'm not showing any sign of consciousness yet, but it's probably excruciating."

"Is there anything you can do?" Ianto asked.

"We know Jack experiences pain reviving from the dead, however, we've never attempted to treat it as it's usually fleeting enough, even if the effects are more long-lasting. I can try releasing an airborne painkiller into the room, but I don't know how much he's actually breathing right now besides just enough to scream, and even if he _does_ get a large enough dose, I still have no way of knowing if it'll work…and too much would kill him with an overdose."

Owen looked at Ianto before continuing, "I'm sorry. I can try, but I really don't know if it'll help."

Ianto paused, taking a deep breath.

"All we can do is try."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

By afternoon of the day after the bomb went off, Jack emerged, looking very tired and worn around the edges.

"What do we have, people?"

Ianto came over to embrace him as Tosh started the report.

"It would appear that the bomb was made by our own government, and there have been a number of other suspicious deaths since the bombing; they may or may not be related, but I'll give you a list once all the information is compiled."

"We have suits hanging around up top, but we're locked down so they can't get in; but we do have a back door for when we're ready to get out. They've also frozen all our personal assets," Owen continued for Tosh.

"Gwen made contact by accident with a Lois Habiba, who works in the government office and seems to believe us and is willing to be our eyes there."

Ianto pulled away from Jack to continue.

"But it seems everything is happening in London, or that's the center of it all, so we'll need to set up there."

"Right. Tosh, source what we'll need in London; we're going to have to be as low key as possible. I want you and Owen to stay here, make sure any family related to Torchwood is safe from being targeted, and keep gathering information. Make sure our comm signal is not hackable; last thing I want is us putting ourselves in danger just by communicating. Gwen, see if you can get the adult that was affected…Timothy White, was it? Get him here and find out what's going on; he's the anomaly here."

"His name is Clem McDonald."

Jack frowned again before continuing.

"Whatever his name is, get him and find out why he's the only adult affected."

"But Jack, what if you need me, what if you need more resources? I was a copper; I know how the criminals do it."

Jack laughed.

"Gwen, I was a conman, I think I know 'how criminals do it,' and Ianto's had a bit of experience with shoplifting; I think we have it covered."

"But—"

"Just do it, Gwen."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack and Ianto made it into the old Torchwood One warehouse the next day.

After setting up, they received a communication from Tosh.

"Tosh is sending us the list of the unusual deaths," Ianto said, passing the handheld to Jack for him to see the list.

Jack's eyes widened.

"I need to go," Jack said in a hurry, about to run out of the warehouse.

"Wait," Ianto said, grabbing Jack's arm.

"I…I don't have time to explain right now, but I recognize those names. It's from an old task I'm not proud of. If I'm right, we're in for a bigger fight than we thought. Please, please just trust me?"

Ianto looked at his lover for a moment.

"Always, Jack, always."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack had just got off the phone with Frobisher; he didn't for one moment believe they had Alice and Steven. Tosh and Owen knew that one of the first things they had to do was get all of their families to safety, and Jack had quietly handed them the file on his daughter and grandson as he and Ianto left, so he knew they were safe. Tosh and Owen would have called them if any of the family weren't safe.

He had just taken a calming breath when Ianto called him.

"Gwen and Rhys are here, and they brought Clem with them."

"Are you kidding me?!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ianto stood for a moment before joining his lover.

He had always known that Jack had darkness in his past, things he was not proud of, but he had never imagined that one of them was something like this.

As he sat down, Jack spoke.

"As horrible as it was, it seemed like such a small price to save all those lives. I was always suspicious, but it wasn't my decision; and honestly, even with the suspicion I had, it's hard to justify millions of deaths for a feeling. Even all that aside, by then I was just numb to everything and everyone, suspicious or not…I just couldn't bring myself to care that much."

"I'm not sure I believe that you didn't care, not really."

"You might be right, I really don't know anymore. I was numb, tired of hurting, tired of losing people. I don't remember feeling anything for awhile around then."

Ianto swallowed.

"It's no surprise to me you have such a dark event in your past; and I'll be honest, this is one of the most deplorable things I've heard."

Ianto noticed Jack wince as he paused before continuing.

"But, I can't say I'm surprised by the decision, or, even as awful as I find it, think it was entirely the wrong one."

Jack looked at him in surprise.

"I remember Jasmine, one for the world; not that different, really. I also remember how much that decision hurt you; that's why I don't think you didn't care. Maybe you didn't feel it then, maybe not for a long time, but I'm all but certain you did eventually."

Jack leaned over, resting his forehead on Ianto's shoulder.

"Hopefully, shooting me will give Clem at least a bit of closure."

Ianto snorted.

"I'm not terribly concerned with his 'closure' at the moment; he claims I _smelled queer_. I want to feel for him, but after that I'm having difficulty."

Jack first looked shocked, then thoughtful, for a moment.

"Granted, I haven't seen much of him, but he doesn't really seem to have progressed with the times. It's like he's still stuck as that little boy, and he was with the 456 for a bit of time; given everything else, the contact with them might have screwed with his brain in ways we can't imagine. I doubt he actually smelled that you were "gay," but he definitely perceived something that told him about that and Gwen's pregnancy, and he just seems to interpret it as a smell, or thinks it is."

Ianto paused, considering his words.

"That seems very possible, and he more than likely doesn't know any better. Maybe after all this is over, Owen might be able to help him; but I am still very offended."

Jack chuckled.

"Well, yeah, it _is_ pretty offensive, but, hmm….I wonder what offensive thing we could do to pass the time while that office girl is playing at agent?" Jack said with a glint in his eye as he tilted his face toward Ianto's.

"Oh, yes, whatever will we do," Ianto murmured as he sealed the kiss.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack activated his comm as he and the others in the warehouse watched the meeting conclude under Lois's recording eyes.

"Tosh, Owen, you get all that?"

"Roger that, Jack, it should be enough to give us a leg up," Tosh replied.

"Oi! Harkness, tell Cooper she's in deep shit for running off without doctor approval, and to get her butt back here."

"Shut it, Owen!" Gwen snarked back.

"Oh, Owen, I'm so glad you agree!" Jack said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Gwen, take your husband and Clem back to the HUB; undoubtedly some of our government friends will find you guys, and make sure they see the tape when they do."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack turned to Ianto as they prepared to storm Thames House.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be; ready with your vortex manipulator to get us out?"

"It's all warmed up," Jack replied with a smile.

"Well, let's get this over with, then."

"Wait!"

Jack pulled Ianto close, kissing him deeply.

"Now let's go," he said, beaming at his lover.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Tosh, Owen and Gwen turned from their confrontation with the government agent, Johnson, at the sound of Clem's screams.

"What's going on?"

Tosh ran to her computer.

"It's the 456; they're introducing some sort of feedback into him…it's killing him!"

"Can you stop it?" Owen asked from where he was kneeling next to Clem.

"There's not enough time!"

Suddenly, a whirring sound filled the HUB and a blue police box phased into existence, followed shortly by a man in a bow tie poking his head out of the door.

"Oh, what's this? Oh, Torchwood. Oh, there seems to be a spot of trouble. Everyone into the box! Don't dwaddle—trying to save a man's life, here. Children to save, so much to do."

Owen didn't need telling twice as he immediately hefted Clem into the TARDIS, followed closely by Gwen.

"Who are you?!" Johnson demanded.

Tosh grabbed Johnson by the arm, pulling her into the TARDIS. "Sorry, we just can't let you stay in the HUB," she said.

As they approached the TARDIS door the Doctor said, "Me, I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Johnson had just enough time to marvel at the size of the interior of the police box when there was a lurch and a thud. Then the strange man in a bow tie was pushing her out the door.

"Sorry, private party and you're not invited. Don't worry, I've already let UNIT know you'll be their guest until Jack can deal with you, so you'll be fed."

Then she was left alone in a small, dank cell.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I love you," Ianto said as his breath was stilling.

Jack was so dizzy; the "virus" or whatever it was had taken effect so fast he didn't have enough time to activate his vortex manipulator, at least not with any skill that would ensure they didn't end up at some random time and place.

The last thing he heard was a whirring, and his last thought was, 'He came.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Jack gasped back to life to the sound of his lover chuckling.

"Told you he'd be back shortly," Ianto said with a twinkle in his eye.

Owen shifted from Ianto's side to Jack's, grabbing his wrist to check his pulse.

"Bit high, but that's normal for you after reviving; bloody hell, Harkness, can we try and have a major invasion _without_ anyone on the team dying?"

"Sorry, I was sure I could get us out before anything to bad happened, it just hit too fast."

"Yes, extremely fast-acting, nothing to be done if you weren't in clean air within a minute of exposure," the Doctor said absently from where he was poking Clem.

Jack stood up and walked over to the Doctor.

"Doctor, it's good to see you. Wish it was better circumstances, but I'm—we're—so glad you're here."

The Doctor glanced up at his old friend.

"Funny thing about this TARDIS, you tell her you're thinking of visiting a friend and she drops you in the middle of the world ending; she seems to think she knows where I need to be, despite what I think."

Jack smiled at the Doctor, then at the console of the TARDIS.

"Now, not that my team isn't brilliant and the best at saving the world as we know it, but I'm hoping you'll be able to give us a shortcut to the answer?" Jack asked with pleading eyes.

"I'm brilliant; of course I can. Interesting fellow you have here," the Doctor said, gesturing at Clem. "He seems to be in tune with the frequency this '456' are using and they actually used a variation of it to try and kill him…fascinating."

Jack waited for the Doctor to get to the point, shooting Owen and Gwen a look to quiet the snarky doctor and questioning former copper.

"Now I don't see why we can't send this signal right back at them," the Doctor said, whirling around and zooming to the TARDIS console.

"What? How? Even if that was possible, you'd need Clem or a child who is in tune with the frequency to send it back, but whoever was used would be killed!" Tosh said.

"Not an option to use an innocent like that, Doctor," Jack said, glaring.

"Well of course not, but we have another option. Funny thing about time agents, they have to be able to handle strange frequencies, waves and loads of nasty things hitting their brains just for training alone and to help them be less standoutish to natives," the Doctor said. He then turned to Ianto and Gwen. "You'd be surprised how just your brain being slightly different from other times can be noticeable to natives."

Ianto's eyes widened in surprise.

"You want to use _Jack_?!"

"It's the best option. It'll bounce the signal and he'll revive; should be minimal risk. Sorry, Jack," the Doctor said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Jack nodded in acknowledgement of the Doctor's apology.

"What do you mean, 'minimal'?" Owen asked.

"There is a slight, ever-so-slight chance that it could cause a catastrophic altering to his brain waves, causing them to become destructive, permanently destroying his mind…and there'd likely be no coming back from it."

"What?"

"Are you mad?"

"NO!"

"Absolutely not!"

The team all protested at once.

Jack leaned over the TARDIS console.

"No, no, he's right; it's the best option," Jack said calmly

"Jack, I don't care how slight the risk is, it's too dangerous!" Ianto exclaimed.

Jack walked over to Ianto, pulling him close, before addressing him and his team.

"It's a much smaller risk for me than anyone else, anyone else being an innocent person. Our team fights for all of humanity everyday of our lives…of their lives. Every one of those days their lives, your life for awhile, was in danger; any of our team could make the ultimate sacrifice for the people of this world, this wonderful, backwater world.

"I've lived a long time, and I'll likely live much longer, but how can I lead such brave people with flickering lives, if I can't take a similar risk? I've died for humanity, more than once. Even when I wouldn't come back, I still made that risk, even died for that."

Jack's eyes drifted to the Doctor's remorseful face.

"We're Torchwood, and we risk it all everyday; just because that risk is different for me, doesn't mean that it's any different from the risk that Owen, Tosh, Gwen, or even _you_ at one time had.

"Long, long ago I was once a coward who would run for my life, but an idealistic girl and a funny man in a blue box, picked me up from the heap I'd found myself in and showed me how to live again, how to care, and how to be brave enough to risk everything for what is right. And this is what's right."

Jack turned to the Doctor fully.

"How long will it take you to get it ready?"

"A few hours."

"Good. Tosh, Owen, Gwen, you'll go back to Cardiff. Take Clem with you and protect as many as you can; do not let them take a single child. Ianto and I will go with the Doctor and end this."

Jack walked back to the TARDIS console and then spun around, his coat swishing.

"We're Torchwood; and I'll be damned if we let the future of this world be destroyed by aliens or the hubris of politicians."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ianto watched in silence as his lover started to crumble, the bounced frequency taking its toll. But they had done it; he could hear the Doctor saying that the 456 were being destroyed.

As it finally stopped, Ianto could only feel awe at his lover.

Jack had always been the one to make the hard decisions, ones where you sacrificed some to save many more. Always been the one to make sure his team knew the risk as he lead them into

life-threatening battle. Threat that had no meaning to him. But with this, Jack proved to any who would doubt him that he didn't just make the tough decisions; he lived them. He didn't just ask his people to risk their lives when he hired them; he was willing to take that same risk.

He didn't just talk the talk; he walked the walk.

"No! No! No!" the Doctor cried.

"What is it?" Ianto asked, alarmed.

"Help me get him into the TARDIS."

As he helped carry Jack, the Doctor continued, "Remember that slight chance I mentioned?"

"Doctor, the next words out of your mouth had better not be a variation of 'that's what's happening!'"

"Oh well, then let's just get him into the TARDIS so I can stop it."

"Doctor!"

"Would you rather argue, or help me get him into the TARDIS and back to your base where we can _save_ him?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Ianto felt Gwen come up beside him as he looked on. The Doctor buzzed around, trying to halt the destructive brainwaves in his lover, with Owen hovering nearby. The doctor was desperate to help, but this was far beyond his realm of expertise.

They had landed the TARDIS to find the team in the HUB finishing paperwork for the cleanup; apparently, the TARDIS hadn't opted to just move through physical space, but also to move two days ahead.

"I spoke to your sister," Gwen said out of the blue.

"Oh?"

"She said your dad worked at Debenhams, not as a tailor."

Ianto sighed.

"It really isn't any of your business, but the person I call "dad" and the person Rhiannon calls "dad" aren't the same person."

"You have different…?" Gwen started to ask.

"No, we have the same father; the one I call "Dad," our biological dad, _was_ a master tailor, but he disappeared when I was just a little boy, which I believe I've mentioned before."

He glared at her a bit before continuing.

"Mum remarried not long afterwards. "Father" was alright, I suppose, if a bit rough, but he was never "Dad" to me; Rhiannon, on the other hand, was bitter that dad was just gone, had seemingly left us; so her "dad" is always mum's second husband."

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

"No, no, you didn't, but you thought I had lied to you so you had to confront it, no matter that this is by far not the time or place. The man I love is lying there, and he might never wake up. Might forever be in a coma."

"Ianto, I'm sorry; I didn't think."

Ianto chose to stay silent and let her sulk away.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It seemed like forever before Jack started to show any signs of stabilizing, let alone waking.

Ianto stayed by Jack the whole time; he knew, however this turned out, that he would remain by his lover's side.

Finally, the Doctor said, "His brain waves are stabilizing; looks like we were able to halt the damage before it was too late."

Owen snarked in response, igniting their familiar banter. Ianto felt his heart lighten; everything was going to be okay.

They had saved the children, saved the world, and best of all, their Captain would remain himself.

Well, apparently a slightly confused Captain, but he could deal with that.


End file.
